Life-saving attachment for submarines.



H. G. E. LINDTKE. LIFE SAYING ATTACHMENT FOR SUBMAMNBS. APPLICATIONFILED OGTAM, 1912.

Patent-ed June 1"; 1913 H. C. Ek LINDTKE.

LIFE SAYING ATTACHMENT DR SUBMARINES.

APPLICATTON FLEFJ OGIEUL W12.

Patented J une 10, 1913.

2 SHEBTSSHEET EEBMN C. E. LINDTKE, 0F EMEYVIIwi-E, GiLIFGRNI.

LIFE-SAYING TTACHMET FOR SUBMARINES.

Specification of Letters Potent. Patented Jane 10, 1913;

Application filed ecober l, l. Serial: 1%.- wim.-

To flZZ whom it may concern Y Be it known that I, HERMAN C. E. LINDTKE,n citizen of the United States, residing at Emeryville, in the countyolf Ala- ,mede and State of California, have invented new and usefulImprovemens in Lieiaving Attachments for Submarines, of which the"following is a specification.

This invention relates to a ineens whereby escape maybe' made from asunken and disabled submarine.

The object of the invention is to provide new and useful improvements insubmarine boats, whereby convenient means is allerded for the escape ofthe crew in case the submerged bont becomes disabled and inca pable ofrising to thelsnrfece of the wet-er; the seid Ineens ermitting e diveror other person to leave t e bont for investigating or other purposes.

A further object` of lli invenlion is to provide certain means whichwill permit the escape of the last man aboard.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combinationof paris as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, havingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is asideelevation of the device. Fig. 2 is ily cross section on the line X-X ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section.

In the drawings A indicates the shell `or hull Vof a submarine boat,which may be of any desired type of structure. Snitably connected to theupper part of the shell of the submarine.v within the vessel end at apoint preferably near the conning mwen is a downwardly projecting tubeor cylinder 2, having a door 3 permitting the persons to pass from theboat into the interior of the chamber, or vice versa. The' topf of thetube communicating with the externer is provided with a second door 4,provided with certain operating and locking means here inafter to bedescribed. The door 8 is provided with a. handheld opening 5, normallyclosed by a screw cap 6, which, when removed, permits insertion of thehand to cperafe a locking mechanism indicated 'et i", allowing it to beopened from the inside.

The outside of the door is provided wiih.

e. common locking means consisting of a hinge, lever and locking bar 8.The main exi door 4 is hinged, asshown at 4, and is automatically openedby e springspressed f opened.

in which it. may' be turned.

rod 9. This rod e will operate' to throw the door'ino' the openposition, shown by dotted lines at l0, when certain releasing means areThe spring-pressed ro'd 9 is provided for the prpose of inseriti apositive menne which will insure a compete opening of the'door 4 whenexit is desired; The lower end of the rod 9 extends' throegh tire exittube and a; brc'lieii 11 and is threaded .to receive hand-wheel or' mit12, making 1t; possible to retract the rod against the compression ofthe spring 13 when it is desirecl` to close the ou'ter door 4. Themoment the outer door or closure has been secured in place, if; becomespossible tc u'nscrew the une 12 or lcwei` it into the position shown inFig. 3'; leafving cheY rod 9' free filo be projected lio lift. the coverwhen' this is released, the outward i'noi'ren'ientv of the rod beinglimied by che position of the nut l2 when he not engages with' thebracket il. The door fl is also' provided with a cam l attachment l-fi,so lpositioned es to be engageable with a rod l Operable from the insideof the vessel'. The rod is threaded' and' through ai nut i6 and is'provided willi e hand-:wheel 17 by which the rod may be' edi-fenced orretracted to close the door; ihrs being eecomplished' by engagement ofhe rod with che cam 14;

Turning the handwheel in che' direction off arrow a; will feed the rodin an' outward direction and force the door into the closed position, esshown in Fig. The door is l also provided with an ablewith a lock 19controlled by a hand- ;wllieel or lever 20 on the inside of the ves-`se=. menns, generally indicated als 21', for the extension 18, engagetis also provided with a friction purpose of holding the lock in anyposition indiennes n hydraulic lift which' is provided for the purposeof assisting in opening the outer door 4 under certain conditions.'lille pressure to operate the lift is conveyed through e pipe 23 fromany suitV able means, es e bend or power pump, not` here shown.

In operaion. it being necessary or d'esired to Hieke Elie escape from. adisabled sub Anirine in which lie foregoing epparius is n lellld, iebecomes necessary for the person or persons desiring to escape to applya divers suit or si helmet of any' suitable kind, provided withrevisions which will supply cir for a. limite time. The per;

.by the hand-wheel 20 to engage son then enters the chamber or tube 2 lthrough the lnner door, which 1s then close'd from the inside by thelocking mechanism 8 by other members of the crew. The locking mechanism19 securing the outer door 4 is then operated to release the catch 18,leaving the door free to open when certain pressures and conditions havebeen overcome by the automatic opener 9. lVater from the outside isIthen admitted into the chamber through a pipe 24 by opening a valve 25,which will allow the l,water to enter and flood the cham-- ber. #Thewater gradually rising in t1 chamber' v`will compress the air containedin the sainea until the pressure of the outside surroundin water and theair pressure be come equalized. The moment this balanced state ofpressure has been attained, the rod 9V, will become operative to-openthe outer door 1; this being accomplished by the pressure of thespring 13 acting on the collar 13', thus allowing the person .to escapefrom the. tube.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide means wherebythe last meub ber of the crew may escape, which is aecomplished by thefollowing means: Supposing all members of the crew have escaped, withthe exception of .the last operator, this member may escape by firstclosing the outer cover 4. This is accomplished by turning thehand-wheel 17 in the direction of the arrow a., which will feed the rod15 outwardly and force the cover 4 into closed position. Before theclosing of the cover it becomes necessary to retract the automatic dooropening rod 9 which was projected in an outward direction by opening thecover. This is accomplished by turning the hand- Wheel or nutvlQ inaidirection which will retract the rod against the pressure ofthe spring13. The rod having been retracted, it is possible to close the outercover by the means just described. In order to permit the rod to againbe projected to open the door, it is necessary to turn the nut 12 intothe lower position `shown in Fig; the distance between the bracket 11and the nut 12 being the amount of projection necessary to 'open lthedoor. The lock 19 is then turned the lug 18 and secure the cover. Thishaving been accomplished, it becomes necessary to remove the watercontained within the chamber '12. The Water may be discharged by openinga valve 23 and an air vent 523%, allowing the ater to drain into thecnterior of the fressel, or by opei'iinggl the valse 24a, which may beconnected to afsuction pump, not hetY shown which will draw water fromthe cl n' r and discharge it outside or the ves- The chamber beingernptid of the Wal ng theloclr I ter, may now be opened by rele 8 on innerdoor, and the loc-lr 15a securing' the outer cover may be turned intothe released posit-ion, as shown in Fig. 2. The end ternal pressurebeing more than sufficient to secure thevdoor in the locked position,the

rod 15 is returned to its normal position, indicated in Fig. 3, .so asnot to interfere with the opening of the cover. The operator havingapplied the necessary helmet or .suit may then enterthe inner door andsecure same by the inner lock 7, which consists of a bracket extendingacross the door opening and a bolt secured to the door so positioned topass through the inner bracket. The outer end of the bolt is secured tothe bracket by a nut 26 for the purpose of locking the door. beensecured, 1t only becomes necessary to flood the chamber, as beforedescribed, until internal and external pressures equalize. This isaccomplished by a rod 27, provided with a handWheel 28, through theoperation of which a valve 29 may be opened on the inside of the chamberto flood same. rlhe moment the external and internal pressuresequalize,- as before described, it will be understoool that the rod willbecome operable to lift the door into the'open position, which willpermit the escape of the operator.

F or the purpose of aiding the last man to escape from the tube, it hasproven, of great advantage, and sometimes a necessity,

to lit the inside of the cylinder with a hyn draulic lift 22 for thepurpose oflifting or assisting in lifting the outer cover. Thishydraulic lift may be operated by any suitable means, as a hand `pump orpressure supply from the interior of the vessel.

It will be understood that the tube may be used by a diver when it isnecessary to make certain repairs or investigations around the ship.Nith this purpose in view, I h ve provided a connection 3G, to which an.air tube, not here shown, .may beconnested. rlhe tube may otherwise befitted with water gages 31 and suitable light openn ings "Ihelightopenings may be pro vided for the purpose olf admit-ting light to theinterior of the chamber in order to ascertain if a person has esca-pecl.One or more of the openings, as 32, may be provided 'with electriclights, as 33,.which may be 'used when necessary.

The hydraulic lift' and operating rod ics' 22 are only used unsercertain conditions when more or less difficulty is met with in openingouter cover s, 3

drain pipe coiuiecting wi"":

` ma?" suctic )eric f and may dict-ate.

It will be understood that various changes to be in torni, proportionsand minor detiils of construction may be resorted to Within the I scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described my iii\'e11tion,'wln1t I Claim and desire tosecure by Letters Pntent is" 1. The Combination with a vessel adapted tobe sulnnerged, of a compartment Within the vessel having :in openingtvliereinto and an opening outside the vessel, closures for snidopenings, looks operable trom either the inside or the outside of saidcompartment controlling the elosnre of the opening eon'unnnieating withthe interior of the vessel, :s looking Ineens opertble from the interiorot the ren-'sel for looking or unlocking the exterior cover, meansoperable .from the exterior of the chamber for tloodinp the rlnnnber toequalize exterior und interior pressures, means operable from .theinterior of the chamber for flooding the chamber, on Lwutomeltie meansWithin the chamber for opening the exterior' closure, :1 secondary meanswithin the chamber for forcing the exterior elosure open, and meansoperable from the interior of the vessel to Close said cover. 2. Thecombination with n vessel adapted to be submerged, of e compartmentwithin the vessel having; an opening thereinto und :in opening outsidethe vessel, closures for seid openings, locks operable from either theinside or thefoutside of said compartment Controlling the closure ot'the opening communicating with the interior of the ressel, n lookingmeans operable from the interior of the itssel for looking or unlockingthe exterior cover, menne operable from the exterior of the ehamberorllooding the -lmniber to equalize exterior' and interior pmssures,ineens operable from the interior of the chamber for flooding thechamber, an outonnitie ineens Within the chamber for opening theexterior closure, :i secondary means within the chamber for forcing theexterior closure open, said means Comprising n \erticnlly disposed rodsuitably journnled on the inside of the chamber so positioned as to haveone end engzigeable with the inner edge of the outer elosnre and theother end projecting through the lower portion ot the chamber, a springsurrounding said rod, :i collar secured to the rod against; which thespring acts, threads formed on the lower end of the rod and a nut forcontrollingethe position of the rod, and means operable from theinterior of the vessel to close said cover.

said openings. locks 3. The combination with a vessel adapted submerged,of a compartment Within the vessel having :in opening therointo and :inopening outside the vessel, closures for operable from either the insideor the outside of seid comportnient controlling the closure of theopening communicating with the interior of the vessel., u looking meansoperable from the interior of the vessel for locking;r or unlocking theexterior rover, means operable from the exterior of the chamber forflooding the chamber to equalize exterior :1nd interior pressures,inenns operable Yfrom the interior ot' the rhmnber for flooding theelifunber, :in nutomntio means within the @bomber for ,pening theexterior closure, a somit/,lary n10-:ins within the Chamber for forcingthe exterior Closure open, seid means eoinprising n vertically disposedrod suitably journaled on the inside of the chamber so positioned as tohave one end engegenble with the inner edge of the outer closure :1ndthe other end projecting through the lower portion of the chamber, aspring surrounding said rod, n coller secured which the spring nots,threads formed. on the lower end of the rod :ind e nut for oontrollingthe position otl the rod, ineens opernble from the interior of theres-sel to rlose seid cover, said means Connufisingr e eem formed on theouter @lesuren rod engagen ble with said eem, and means for operatingsaid rod.

4. The eombinzition with a vessel adopted to be submerged, of nCmnpartment within the vessel having' un openingr thereinto and anopening outside the vessel, elosnies tor seid openings, looks operablefrom either the inside or outside of said oominrtment controlling theclosure of the opening oommunieating with the interior of the wissel,means operable from the exterior of the chamber for flooding the Chamberto equnlize exterior and interior pressures, means operable from theinterior ot'.the chamber for flooding the elnnnber, :in automatic ineensWithin the elmmber for opening the exterior Closure, n secondary menneWithin the Chamber for forcing the exterior closure open, and atimid-Controlled luid-netuntetl means Within the ehember for forcing;the outer elosnre into open osition,

In testimony whereo I have hereunto my hand in the presence of twoVsubscribing Witnesses.

HERMAN C. E. LINDTKF.

Witnesses JOHN H. HERRING, W. W. HEALEY.

siel

